Breadcrumb
15 credit hours (5 classes)
The Public, Non-Profit & Community Leadership Certificate is a valuable academic credential that reflects the participant's scholarly achievement in the areas of politics and public policy. It offers participants the opportunity to develop the political skills and acumen necessary for leading effectively within your own organization, community, or jurisdiction. The program consists of five courses representing 15 semester hours of credit.
With departmental approval, up to 12 credits can be transferred from the certificate program into a full graduate degree program.
Public, Non-Profit and Community Graduate Leadership Certificate
Outcomes Assessment Plan
Certificate’s Educational Goals: This credit-bearing graduate certificate engages students in a focused curriculum in the community organizing and development field, including field placements in internships with local community partners. The program curriculum is anchored around the study and practice of local civic engagement, especially in traditionally marginalized communities. We provide critical education and effective skills-based training for students seeking careers in community organizing and development, as well as for students seeking more active citizenship and civic engagement. This program contributes to a workforce and community of change agents—activists, organizers, social workers, leaders, researchers, and program directors—to work for change in low-income and otherwise marginalized communities.
Certificate Learning Outcomes: Graduates of the Public, Non-Profit and Community Leadership Certificate program will:
- Analyze structural roots of community problems and sources of community strength
- Critique public, non-profit and community organizing and/or leadership strategies, depending on issue or community context
- Apply critical thinking skills to solve collective problems in a manner that improves the public good
- Deepen involvement with diverse communities and real-world challenges (including internships and other experiential learning opportunities), allowing students to reflect on the relationship between theory, political practice and potential career paths.
- Effectively communicate findings and recommendations to specific audiences
Curriculum and Assessment Map: The Public, Non-Profit and Community Leadership certificate requires students to complete four graduate-level courses. Two courses are required: PSCI 5914 (Community Organizing and Development) and PSCI 5959 (Individually Structured Internship). Two courses are electives, and must be drawn from the following list of 12 courses.
- PSCI 5025 Local Governance and Globalization
- PSCI 5094 Urban Politics
- PSCI 5124 Denver Politics
- PSCI 5206 Social Movements
- PSCI 5265 Social Justice and Globalization
- PSCI 5274 Conflict Resolution and Public Consent Building
- PSCI 5324 Politics, Public Policy, and Leadership
- PSCI 5414 Non-Profits and Social Change
- PSCI 5535 Labor and Working Class Politics
- PSCI 5555 International Women’s Resistance
- PSCI 5008 Topics Courses—When Relevant and Approved by Program Advisor
- PSCI 5840 Independent Study—When Relevant and Approved by Program Advisor
The table below maps the learning objectives to the required courses, and provides examples of typical assessments for each course with respect to each learning objective.
|
Learning Objective |
PSCI 5914 |
PSCI 5959 |
|---|---|---|
|
Analyze Structural Roots of Community Problems and Strengths |
Short Papers & Final Project |
|
|
Critique Public, Non-Profit and Community Leadership Strategies |
Class Papers & Final Project |
Regular Journal Entries and Final Field Analysis |
|
Apply Critical Thinking Skills to Improve Public Good |
Possible: Final Community- Based Action Research Project |
Field Supervisor’s Evaluation |
|
Deepen Involvement with Diverse Communities |
Possible: Final Community- Based Action Research Project |
Field Supervisor’s Evaluation |
|
Effectively Communicate Findings |
Class Papers and Oral Presentation OR Community-Based Presentation |
Class Papers and Oral Presentation OR Community-based presentation |
Assessment Data Collection and Analysis: Assessment for each learning objective will be undertaken at the time of conclusion for any of the required courses, using the rubrics below. Assessments will be conducted by reviewing relevant course records, and in consultation with relevant instructors. Assessment of achievement of learning outcomes for all students in the course will be conducted, providing evidence of the extent to which the opportunity to master learning objectives was provided to certificate student who might have been in the courses.
Learning Outcome 1: Analyze structural roots of community problems and sources of community strength
|
Category |
Percentage of Students |
Rubric |
|
Exceeds Expectations |
|
Demonstrates a broad and sophisticated understanding of the structural roots of community problems and sources of community strength. Shows strong ability to link local dynamics to broader political, economic, historic, cultural or global forces that shape local life. |
|
Meets Expectations |
|
Demonstrates a solid understanding of the structural roots of community problems and sources of community strength. Shows some ability to link local dynamics to broader political, economic, historic, cultural or global forces that shape local life—but may demonstrate lack of depth in grasping either broader structural forces or in describing local manifestations. |
|
Below Expectations |
|
Demonstrates a limited understanding of the structural roots of community problems and sources of community strength. Shows only limited ability to link local dynamics to broader political, economic, historic, cultural or global forces that shape local life. |
Learning Outcome 2. Critique public, non-profit and community organizing and/or leadership strategies, depending on issue or community context.
|
Category |
Percentage of Students |
Rubric |
|---|---|---|
|
Exceeds Expectations |
|
Demonstrates a sophisticated understanding of effective public, non-profit and community organizing and/or leadership strategies, depending on issue or community context. In field work, student demonstrates an ability to identify relevant challenges to effective leadership in a given context, and to identify/evaluate promising responses to those leadership challenges. |
|
Meets Expectations |
|
Demonstrates a solid understanding of different public, non-profit and community organizing and/or leadership strategies, depending on issue or community context. In field work, student might struggle to identify/evaluate multiple promising responses to specific leadership challenges in a given context. |
|
Below Expectations |
|
Demonstrates a limited understanding of different public, non-profit and community organizing and/or leadership strategies, depending on issue or community context. In field work, Student struggles to identify a promising response to specific leadership challenge in a given context. |
Learning Outcome 3: Apply Critical Thinking Skills to Improve Public Good
|
Category |
Percentage of Students |
Rubric |
|---|---|---|
|
Exceeds Expectations |
|
Community-based action research project and/or student’s performance in field internship demonstrates nuanced and sophisticated understanding of specific community challenges/opportunities, and impressively creative approach to addressing those challenges/opportunities.
|
|
Meets Expectations |
|
Community-based action research project and/or student’s performance in field internship demonstrates solid understanding of specific community challenges/opportunities, and student demonstrates diligence and commitment in addressing those challenges/opportunities. |
|
Below Expectations |
|
Community-based action research project and/or student’s performance in field internship demonstrates only rudimentary understanding of specific community challenges/opportunities, and/or student lacks diligence and commitment in addressing those challenges/opportunities. |
Learning Outcome 4: Deepen involvement with diverse communities and real-world challenges (including internships and other experiential learning opportunities), allowing students to reflect on the relationship between theory, political practice and potential career paths.
|
Category |
Percentage of Students |
Rubric |
|---|---|---|
|
Exceeds Expectations |
|
Student demonstrates serious commitment to building connections between university resources and community needs and interests and a creative approach to the practical application of academic skills. |
|
Meets Expectations |
|
Student participates in relevant university-community partnership opportunities, but may not demonstrate a unique personal commitment to this work. Student is capable, but does not stand out, in pursuing a practical application of their academic skills. |
|
Below Expectations |
|
Student is disinterested or undependable in completing relevant university-community partnership opportunities. Student demonstrates rudimentary effort to pursuing a practical application of their academic skills. |
Learning Outcome 5: Effectively communicate findings and recommendations to specific audiences
|
Category |
Percentage |
Rubric |
|---|---|---|
|
Exceeds Expectations |
|
Demonstrates a sophisticated ability to conceive of and execute well-organized, polished, and exceptionally effective written and oral presentations. Presentations are mostly free of grammar and style errors, demonstrate evidence of careful review and practice before submission or delivery, and are properly aimed at the audience in question for any given presentation. |
|
Meets Expectations |
|
Demonstrates a solid ability to conceive of and execute organized, polished, and effective written and oral presentations. Presentations are generally free of grammar and style errors, but there may be enough errors to undermine the professional appearance of the product. Though final product is solid, there is evidence that more careful review and practice of final product before submission/presentation would have substantially improved product. Though well-written or delivered, class products may not be well-tailored to the audience in question (whether academic, professional, or community-based). |
|
Below Expectations |
|
Struggles to conceive or execute organized and polished presentations, whether written or oral. Presentations may suffer from multiple grammar and style errors. Final products may lack evidence of careful review or practice before submission/delivery. Class products may not be poorly tailored to the audience in question (whether academic, professional, or community-based). |
Schedule for Learning Outcomes Assessment
Achievement of learning outcomes for each student will be assessed at the time of each course’s conclusion. Data will be reported upon the completion of the certificate by five or more students. Managing the assessment process will be the responsibility of the department certificate coordinator and/or Department Chair.